• tags :: capitalismvalorizationcapitalbourgeoisieclass

• source :: Capital Vol. 2

In previous modes of production those at the top of the class hierarcy simply sat atop all the value generated from the lower strata of society. Feudal lords made their wealth by extracting it from peasant labor direcly. Similarly, aristocrats lived lavish lives and consumed more than anyone else in society. There was no process of reinvestment.

Under capitalism, the capitalists, who sit atop the class hierarchy, do not simply sit on their wealth. If they hoarded their wealth, it would do great harm to the capitalist economy. Instead, capitalists must reinvest their wealth back into capitalism in order to withdraw the large amount that they do. This perpetuates the circuit of capital